In the center of Jerusalem, within the walls of a beautiful and ancient building, you'll find the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art. Founded in 1886, it presents a collection of unique and rare items that expose us to one of the oldest and most respected communities in the history of the Jewish people.
The museum resides in an old building from the 19th century. The entry hall is covered with impressive frescoes depicting scenes from the holy scriptures, paintings of plants and animals and writings in all languages.
These creations are typical to their oriental era. The most awing fact is that this was not an ordinary wall-paining ordered from an artist, but spontaneous creativity bursts, made by pilgrims who visited the place, and these paintings are their way to express gratitude. The exhibits in the museum spread the culture and heritage of the Italian Jewish diaspora. The goal of the museum is to forge a connection between the Jewish people and their Italian ancestors. One of the ways to achieve this is by spreading out the unique dressing that was unique to this community.
The museum consists of three parts:
The ancient Italian synagogue
Showrooms
The decorated entry hall
At the center of the museum stands an ancient 300-years-old synagogue, initially built in Conegliano town. It contains a golden Torah ark that creates a holy atmosphere that is accentuated by the simplicity of the walnut seats. The synagogue was brought intact to Israel during the 1950s as part of a project to retrieve Jewish ritual objects from Italy. To this day, members of the community come to pray in this unique synagogue. In the showrooms, you may see the lifestyle the Jewish people lead in Italy during the destruction of the Second Temple era, during the exile of Rome and until to this very day. The collections include valuable religious objects rescued after the reign of Mussolini and the World War II, including the second most ancient Torah ark in the whole world, the most ancient Parochet in the world, remnants of a synagogue built in the 15th century and more. Start your virtual tour of the museum >>
